Most dogs enjoy chewing on things although preferences vary as to the hardness of the substances favored. Some dogs like to chew on very hard materials such as cow bones, wood, nylon or polyurethane, others prefer softer chews such as rawhide, while still others favor freeze dried snacks. Some dogs, due to their age, may not be able to chew on the hard substances. Young dogs have insufficiently developed teeth, while old dogs may have diseased gums or may have lost some of their teeth.
In appreciation of this problem, there has been previously developed an edible dog chew that is digestible and nutritious along with a texture or hardness which is individually adjustable by the application of heat to suit a wide variety of dog's preferences or needs. Such dog chews utilize a mixture containing primarily casein and are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,200,212 and 5,240,720, which are assigned to T.F.H. Publications, Inc. Other wholly digestible, edible dog chews have also been developed that are formed largely from various starch products.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,827,565 owned by T.F.H. Publications Inc. there is disclosed a process for making a heat expandable dog chew comprised primarily of injection molding potato starch granules and an attractant. Attractants recited include chicken powder, liver powder, ham, turkey, beef and or fish. Natural vegetable additives such as spinach or carrots also may be added. The resultant mixture is molded under heat and pressure into a desired form, such as a dog bone. The dog bone so produced can be modified in texture or hardness by subsequent heating, preferably in a microwave oven.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,126,978, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Pat. No. 5,827,565, and which is owned by T.F.H. Publications Inc., there is disclosed a dog chew having natural fruit flavor to increase the dog's appetite for such chew. Such fruit flavored dog chew may also include natural food coloring to enhance the attractiveness of the chew to the dog owner. The food coloring may also correspond to the fruit flavor, and the dog chew disclosed therein may also embody a breath sweetener for a dog such as mint, spearmint, peppermint or wintergreen and may also include parsley. The preferred form of such edible chew maintains the basic ingredient of a heat-expandable starch, such as potato starch. Fruit flavoring may be added to the granules of a mixture of potato starch, water and calcium carbonate along with natural fruit flavorings.
Attention is also directed to the following U.S. patents, owned by T.F.H. Publications Inc.: U.S. Pat. No. 5,476,069 entitled “Molded Rawhide Chew Toy”; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/923,070 filed Sep. 3, 1997 entitled “Vegetable Based Dog Chew” now U.S. Pat. No. 6,093,427; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/738,423 filed Oct. 25, 1997 entitled “Edible Dog Chew” now U.S. Pat. No. 5,827,565; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/784,834 filed Jan. 17, 1997 entitled “Carrot-Based Dog Chew” now U.S. Pat. No. 5,941,197; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/114,872 filed Jul. 14, 1998 entitled “Heat Modifiable Edible Dog Chew” now U.S. Pat. No. 6,180,161; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/138,804 filed Aug. 21, 1998 entitled “Improved Edible Dog Chew” now U.S. Pat No. 6,126,978; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/116,070 filed Jul. 15, 1998 entitled “Wheat & Casein Dow Chew With Modifiable Texture” now U.S. Pat. No. 6,110,521; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/116,555 filed Jul. 15, 1998 entitled “Heat Modifiable Peanut Dog Chew” now U.S. Pat. No. 6,093,441; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/227,767 filed Jan. 8, 1999 entitled “Method of Molding Edible Starch” now U.S. Pat. No. 6,159,516. In addition to such patents, attention is also directed to the art cited in said patents and applications, as such art may relate to the field of molded edible products.
Additionally, while the above prior art confirms the variety successful efforts to provide an edible chew, there remains, of course, a continuing need to develop other techniques of manufacture that will provide expanded and more efficient production capability, without alternating the effect on product quality.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide and animal chew or animal treat that can be easily and cost effectively manufactured, which process may be made continuous, and which process is suitable for any edible composition currently utilized to manufacture pet treat type products, and which process allows one to, e.g, continuously produce an animal chew into a shape of a bar while generally maintaining the nutritional value of the edible components, and other ingredients, that are selected for such manufacture.